- Pain, swelling, or redness where the shot was given
- Mild fever
- Chills
Feeling tired
Headache
- Muscle and joint aches"
.
A lot of us can probably state from experience feeling at least a few of these symptoms with
vaccines. I just got my flu shot on Sunday, and I personally experienced pain at the site of the shot,
tiredness, and muscle and joint aches. (These symptoms were mild and completely worth reducing
the risk of contracting and spreading influenza this fall and winter.)
What's really cool is these symptoms actually serve as a sign that our immune system is at work.
Explain how these mild symptoms following a vaccine indicate our immune system is working
properly. Although we often think of how vaccines affect the third line of defense through the
creation of memory cells and production of antibodies, consider what you learned in the previous
chapter on the second line of defense and how this relates to the mild symptoms following
vaccination.